Review of Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) by Rainer K — 04 Sep 2012

Sometimes, some guys in Hollywood have some pretty great ideas.

It's films like this which leapfrog the industry, break through genre borders and break new technical ground.

In a world were toons live side by side with real humans, toon star Roger Rabbit is accused of killing Marvin Acme (a joke article magnate) for having an affair with his wife.

Private detective Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins in his most defining role) somehow gets into the mix and unveils an even bigger scheme.

The idea WFRR is based on, is one of the most original ideas I came across in recent times, and the number of toon cameos they could acquire is astounding. Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, Yosemite Sam, Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Woody Woodpecker and many many more.

It's these famous toons that remind us of our youth that keep the film going and provide little pieces of (comedic) relief throughout the story.

The plot is usual noir fare (although much more colourful than you expect a noir to be - Dick Tracy comes to mind in some scenes) and they work quite well with the stereotypes - Hoskins is grumpy, Roger is annoying (in a buddy comedy, Roger would be black and played by Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, etc) and Jessica Rabbit is the femme fatale.

I also liked the 1940s period setting and the set designs which are itself great technical achievements (not to mention the animation/live-action hybrid sequences which were, and still are, groundbreaking).

It's also quite a disturbing allegory how the creators used the toons as somehow surpressed minority and bring some hidden serious messages in this otherwise comedic matter.